Submitted images and press release:
Finalists have been selected for a new Genesee County flag and now the public will determine one winner from five flags designed by children and five flags designed by adults.
Please click here to vote for your favorite -- choose one adult flag AND one child's flag.
Voting will end on Friday, April 30 and the winning selections will be announced the following week.
“We are excited about the entries for the contest and when residents go online to vote, we also are strongly encouraging them to fill out the various surveys for our 2050 Comprehensive Plan,” said Felipe Oltramari, director of the Genesee County Department of Planning. “It is very important that we hear from our residents, business owners, and other stakeholders as we go about drafting a plan that reflects community priorities decades from now.”
Those who vote online will have a chance to win free shelter reservations at DeWitt Recreation Area and the Genesee County Park & Forest for the upcoming season. Voters are automatically entered into the drawing by voting for one of the flag designs and by filling out any of the Genesee 2050 surveys. The more surveys someone completes, the more chances that person has to win.
“Kudos to everyone, both adult and child, that participated in the flag design contest,” said Genesee County Legislature Chair Shelley Stein. “I know the committee had a difficult time in selecting the finalists in each category and that can only attributed to the vision, passion, and pride we all have for Genesee County.”
The five entries from the adult category are described below each image:
Flag 1 -- Symbolizes Genesee County’s farming heritage as its foundation, in the blue horizon line over a green field of crops backed up by the sunshine, coming together to form a G for Genesee.
Flag 2 -- Features a green shape in the center as the geographic boundary of the county; the G is for Genesee and it is surrounded by 13 stars representing the County's 13 towns.
Flag 3 -- Includes the Holland Land Office Museum as its main graphic, symbolizing the birthplace of Genesee County (and all of Western New York). The enclosing shape has 12 stars, plus one more within it, representing the 13 towns in the County.
Flag 4 -- Sunshine and the plant growing from a cultivated field represent the agricultural character of Genesee County. The graphic within the sun is an indigenous star symbol, which means courage and purity of spirit. The valley symbol comes from the Iroquois word Gen-nis'-Thee-yo, meaning "The Beautiful Valley.” The combination of these images symbolize the County's Seneca heritage.
Flag 5 -- It is a bicolor design with two horizontal color fields in royal blue and gold. A blue and gold representation of the county seal is in the center consuming the middle two quarters of the width. It has a gold half circle outlining the top half of the seal to provide contrast against the royal blue field.
The five entries from children are:
Child's Flag 1
Child's Flag 2
Child's Flag 3
Child's Flag 4
Child's Flag 5
